“The octagon is one level up from where we are now,” Bryce added when Josh fell silent. “There’s a dance club of some kind above that. At night, I can hear the music. I haven’t had to fight yet. They said something about holding me back for the Saturday night crowd. Unless I’ve completely lost track of my days, I think today is Saturday, right?”
“Yeah,” Spencer said.
Bryce nodded. “I guess I’m up next then.”
Tanner couldn’t believe how well Bryce was holding it together. Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said of Spencer. The hybrid’s breathing was getting faster, and his heart rate was climbing. Rage was getting the best of him.
Tanner opened his mouth to say something to calm him down when a loud clank outside the room interrupted him. A moment later, the heavy wooden door opened, and a row of overhead fluorescents flickered on. The sudden brightness was almost blinding after the near-total darkness. It was even enough to shock Spencer out of his shift.
Tanner had to shield his eyes with his hand until he pushed his hybrid half firmly into the background and his gaze returned to normal. If he hadn’t been so focused on the four men entering the room, he might have spent a few more seconds celebrating the fact that his control of the beast seemed to be getting stronger by the hour.
Ryan led the way into the room, looking even more arrogant and smug than he had back at the prepper camp. Two big men followed at his heels, spread out wide to either side like they were protecting a frigging dignitary. One was the blond, Scandinavian-looking guy—Anton. The other was darker skinned, South American maybe. Both had the look of professional muscle, definitely prior military. Tanner had seen their type before. They were well-trained men who lacked any form of moral compass. They evaluated threats and dealt with them as violently as necessary.
As they moved closer, Tanner caught sight of the large handguns each had tucked away in their underarm holsters beneath their suit jackets. A quick glance revealed the outline of backup weapons strapped to their right calves. He wouldn’t be surprised if they were carrying other weapons, too.
There was another man with Ryan, too, a middle-aged Asian guy with shrewd, dark eyes.
Anton and his buddy scanned the room before focusing their attention on Tanner. Maybe they thought he represented the most serious threat. That made sense, especially if they had no idea that Spencer and Bryce were hybrids, too. Tanner might be able to use that to his advantage.
“Told you he’d wake up fast, even with all those tranquilizers in him,” Ryan said with a laugh. “But this is even better than I thought. You can’t even see all that damage I did to his face from kicking him.” He regarded Tanner admiringly. “Damn, you’re one amazing freak.”
Tanner would have preferred to stand toe-to-toe with Ryan, but the chain around his wrist made that impossible. So he settled for making himself comfortable on the floor. Bending his knee, he rested his forearm on his thigh. When he looked up at his old friend, he saw nothing but a piece of shit.
He swung his gaze from Ryan to the middle-aged Asian guy who had yet to say a single word or even crack an expression. He studied Tanner for a few moments with dark, flat eyes before surveying the other captives in the room.
Tanner glanced back at Ryan, who was still regarding him like a bug under a microscope. “You’re the one forcing people to fight to the death in the basement of your club for money. So who’s the freak here again?”
Ryan smirked. “We all do what we have to do to get by, old buddy.”
Tanner shook his head as he surveyed the other captives. Like Josh, every one of them had bruises and were covered in blood. He turned back to Ryan. “No, we don’t all do what we have to do. Some of us still remember what the hell we used to fight for and the things we believed in. The Ranger I used to know, the man I fought and bled with, wouldn’t do shit like this.”
Ryan’s jaw clenched. “The man you fought and bled with was an idiot. He watched his brothers die so the rest of America could binge-watch their favorite TV shows, drink their soy lattes, and eat their avocado toast. War does strange things to us all, but it taught me an important lesson—take care of yourself, because no one else gives a shit whether you live or die. This is just me taking care of myself.”
“We all had a hard time over there, Ryan. I lost friends, too. But you don’t see me feeding innocent people to a bloodthirsty crowd for a few bucks.”
“No, but I do see you growing fangs and claws,” he answered. “War turned me into an entrepreneur who sees the profit potential in a little spilled blood. It turned you into a freak.”
“Enough!” the Asian man snapped. “You said you had something to show me, Ryan. Something that would move the needle.”
Ryan glanced at the man, then gave Tanner a speculative look. “So, how about it, old buddy? You going to show Mr. Nguyen what you’re made of? Impress him as much as you impressed me?”
Tanner lifted a brow. “You’re kidding, right?”
“I know how to get what we want.” Grinning at the other guard, Anton pulled a large knife from behind his back. “The monster came out when he was in pain. I say we stick him once or twice in the leg. Something tells me that will work.”
Even though he’d gained a lot more control over his inner beast lately, thanks to Zarina, Tanner felt his gums and fingertips tingle as the hybrid tried to take over and protect him against the attack it knew was coming.
Tanner did his best to keep the beast at bay, promising it that he’d make his move when
